You're Late (Alternate Version of You're Home)
by Strawberry4evr
Summary: Read You're Home first! This is what would've happened if Carlisle hadn't been able to find Edward on the beach in Rio. This is him reuniting with the Cullens over a century later. This is probably not a oneshot.


**You need to read my oneshot You're Home before this, as it will make a lot more sense if you do. This is basically what would have happened if Carlisle hadn't been able to find Edward in Rio that day. This is Edward's and the Cullen's reunion over a century later. **

Edward frowned as he stepped into the diner and the scents assaulted his nose. It was an odd mixture. Repulsive, delicious and familiar all at once, and he could name what each scent belonged to.

The repulsive stench of human food was the most stagnant, although almost masked by the delicious, enticing, _burning_ scent of human blood, which he manged to almost successfully ignore. He had not drunk it since his rebelious days just about two centuries ago, and he didn't intend to start drinking it now.

And the last scent... That hadn't entered his nose for a hundred and twenty years. It was the scent of vampire, but not harsh like those who prey on humans. It was softer... almost. Laced with the scent of animal blood.

It was purely Cullen.

His plan to stay away from them for just over seventy years (the same amount of time he had stayed with them since his rebelious days) had backfired when he found himself unable to find them. When he had realised his sentence was over he had made sure to never make an active decision to find them, sure that Alice would see it and make the family move whenever he got too close so he would never find them. She must hate him. They must all hate him.

And yet he has to find them, as he doesn't know. They might not hate him, and if he doesn't find them then he knows that for the rest of his existence he will only be asking himself the same question:

_What if?_

Edward is sure his family are aware he is alive, thanks to Eleazer, whom he hasn't seen for seventy years. He had visited the Denalis regularly, until...

_"Carlisle!" Eleazer greeted, lifting the phone to his ear. "How are you?"_

_Edward froze, not making a sound. Don't tell them I'm here, he pleaded silently. Out of all the times he's visited, Carlisle has never called while he was actually in the house._

_"I'm as well as I can be, thank you, Eleazer," Carlisle replies solemnly, and the bronze haired vampire looked down in shame. The moment he had heard his father's thoughts in Rio, he had jumped from the rocks and into the ocean, not minding the pain of the salt irritating the open wounds on his salt covered his scent. Carlisle was unable to find his son. "Alice hasn't been able to find him, still. Sometimes its hard to believe its been fifty years since we last saw him."_

_The Denali girls rolls their eyes at Edward before turning back to their , magazines. Eleazer glances at Edward apologetically before saying, "Carlisle..." Edward shakes his head frantically while reaching to take the phone from his friend. "Edward's here."_

_"What?!" They hear the entire Cullen family exclaim on the other end of the line. Edward hears his daughter's voice for a moment, but it sounds different. More mature, less afraid, and almost... haunted. He stops to savour hearing his wife's voice for a moment before roaring:_

_"DAMN YOU ELEAZER!" A collection of gasps comes from the other end of the phone, and the telepath realises too late that all he has done is given himself away, and before Eleazer can even put the phone down, he's gone._

Edward shudders at the memory, and then almost smirks as the girls at the table he is standing next to notice his beauty, his mismsatched clothes, his lack of shoes and socks, and then the right side of his face. He knew he should've taken the venom out at the time, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. Because he left it in, the venom ate at his scars until they were deep enough that humans could see them with ease. He was just glad that they weren't obviously bite marks to them. That would have been hard to explain.

_...don't know why Alice sends us here. I get that Jazz'll do anything for her but I don't get when I signed up for this. For God's sake, its just a crappy diner..._

The bronze haired vampire panics as he recognises Emmett's thoughts, and then Jasper's alongside him as they approach the diner. Alice must have seen him walk in here. Damn it. Making sure no humans are watching, he quickly sprints from the eatery by the back door.

Emmett and Jasper Cullen enter the diner, one quite annoyed and the other slightly bored. They have entered the diner every day for the past two weeks per Alice's request, and nothing had ever changed about it. She always told them to wait there for a while before coming home, which confused them but they did so anyway. Something was different about today apparently, she 'could feel it'. They both inhale deeply as the scents assault their noses, Jasper thanking the stars that his control has improved greatly over the last century.

But his eyes widen as his heightened senses notice it first. He inhales thrice more, just to make sure and is shocked to find the scent growing stronger as he approaches the bar. Emmett smells it then. "No way..." He mutters, turning to his brother. They then follow the scent through the back door of the diner, ignoring the employee informing them they can't go that way. They then follow it to the forest, where it gets so strong that they knows he's near.

"He's close," Jasper snarls. They've been waiting for this day for a hundred and twenty years; they're not about to mess it up now.

Then they hear him, running as fast and as far away from them as possible. They're after him immediately, although they never manage to catch sight of him. Emmett curses.

Finally they come to a small, circular clearing. Trees tower overhead, mostly blocking the sky from view and casting green shadows across the forest floor. Snarling and growling lowly, the brothers inhale deeply. "He's got to be here somewhere," Emmett grumbles. "Scents don't just stop."

Jasper nods before something occurs to him, looking up, he concentrates hard on the sounds surrounding him. It takes a short while, but finally someone shifts their weight in the tree above him, and he leaps.

He's not sure what he expected, but what he didn't expect was to find himself face to face with the boy he once called brother, hanging onto the very same branches, their hands and feet only inches apart.

Fear is written across Edward's face as he looks at the blond. He only stayed to make sure they left. He wanted to find them, to see them, but he didn't want to be forced into meeting them like this. He needed to do it in his own time. He isn't prepared for this. He isn't ready.

Jasper's face, however, is one of shock. Edward knows he is studying his scars, and looks down. But he looks up in alarm as his old brother's thoughts shift. Just as the blond makes a grab for him, Edward leaps.

He lands in the next tree, and can hear the shock in Jasper's thoughts. In the past century, Edward had found himself too lost in his own thoughts to realise he was passing through another vampire's territory, and found that it was either, a) get his head ripped off when the vampire notices him, or, b) run as fast as he can and hopefully escape with only a bite.

In fact he had done it so much that running away has become second nature to him. He no longer needs to listen to other's thoughts to know when to run away or what the safest route is.

He just knows.

As he continues through the trees, he grits his teeth against the fabric of his jacket rubbing against a relatively fresh scar. He got it a couple of weeks ago, but again didn't take the venom out, which is why simple fabric is able to irritate it. Unfortunately, the bites adorning his face are not the only scars he holds, as there are many lining his arms and torso as well.

Although, not as many as the vampire chasing him.

He can hear Emmett running below him as Jasper fights through the leaves behind him. He's not sure if he can escape, but he'll try. Finally, he reaches the lake, and gracefully launches himself as far as he can from the tree closest to the bank. He just manages to reach the lake, sending water flying as he lands rather ungracefully in it. Swimming as fast as he can, he looks back to see the Cullen brothers standing still at the edge of the water.

"Shit," Emmett curses. "Shit! I can't believe it! It was really him!"

"I know..." Jasper whispers, still shocked by what he saw. Edward has definitely changed, but he's not sure how. He has clearly been in quite a few fights, as he could clearly see the outlines of other bites through the too-small jacket he was wearing. His clothes had clearly been stolen, as the jacket was too small, but the t shirt underneath it was too big, as were his trousers, and he was barefoot, dirt marring his feet and face. These facts made Jasper feel as though Edward had grown up considerably during his time away, but the fear written across his face and the way he ran from them made Jasper think that Edward is more of a child than when he left them, and that running away isn't a new thing for him. "We should get back."

"Are we going to tell them what happened?" Emmett inquires as they begin the run back home, and Jasper nods.

"Yes, but only when everyone is together. That way everyone will be able to get support from each other. Bella and Esme especially."

Entering their home, they are glad to find everyone sitting in the living room, staring at Alice as she silently cries. Esme is trying to comfort her, and Jasper takes her from her immediately. "Family meeting, now," He orders, picking up his wife and carrying her into the dining room before placing her in the chair next the one he will take at one end of the rectangular table. The others file in and everyone sits down, Emmett at the other end of the table. There is no empty chair; they stopped hoping Edward would come home long ago. The brothers nod at each other before Emmett begins, deciding to give the news bluntly and immediately.

"We saw Edward today."

For the first time since he left, Bella begins crying. The others look over at her in shock. After he left she had been angry, and then when Carlisle returned alone she had gone into denial. After a month, she had finally given up and cried. She had cried for hours, only to 'wake up' the next morning with a new found determination to be the best mother she could to her child, who she knew would always have memories of the father that left her. Since then Bella had barely been alive, only ever smiling at her daughter, only ever hunting when she absolutely needed to and only ever talking when she was asked a direct question.

But she never, ever cried.

Jacob, Nessie and Esme went to comfort her immediately, rubbing her back and comforting her as best they could. But it wouldn't work. Bella was in need of her husband, the person who understood her most, and yet he wasn't there, and they doubted he ever would be.

"What happened?" Carlisle asked quietly, tearing his eyes from his crying daughter, wanting to get the meeting over with. He still feels the guilt of not being able to find his son in time.

"We smelt him first," Jasper continues. "So we followed him. When we got to the forest we heard him run from us. We continued following him before we came to a clearing, where his scent stopped. After a while I guessed he was in the trees, and jumped into one. I don't know what I expected, but certainly not to find myself hanging onto the very same branches as he. We stayed still for a moment before I came to my senses and tried to grab him, but just as I did he jumped. He quite literally jumped from tree to tree before he got to the lake. He jumped in and we lost him there."

Carlisle pauses before voicing his next question, unsure of whether or not he wants the answer. "How did he... How did he look?"

Emmett looks over at Jasper to answer this question, and the empath inhales sharply before answering. "Honestly?" Everyone nods this time. "Rough. He looked rough. There are bite marks covering the right side of his face, cutting through his lip and barely missing his eye. I could see the outlines of other scars on his arms and torso. His clothes were clearly stolen. He has no shoes, and he is covered in dirt. And... and the way he ran away. He wasn't reading our minds while he did it. It was pure instinct. In fact I'd go as far to say its second nature. He seemed easily startled and afraid. He is so unlike the arrogant, brave, snobbish brother we knew."

Esme breaks down at this, and Rosalie grips Emmett's hand as she too begins crying. Nessie also begins shedding tears, while Alice and Bella just cry harder. Hands join around the table, taking strength from each other as Carlisle takes charge again. "We will find him," He says with conviction. "And we will bring him home."

The next day Jasper decides to go hunting alone. The emotional atmosphere in the house is getting too much, and he needs some time to himself.

Also, he hasn't hunted the longest out of everyone in the family.

But he decides to begin his hunt with a quick run, as Edward used to do. Who knows? Maybe he still does.

Half way through the hunt, Jasper catches the telepath's scent. Its quite strong, which means the runaway is near. "Edward!" He calls. "You can come out. I'm not going to hurt you."

Someone lands behind him, and Jasper turns to find his long lost brother standing behind him at the other end of the small clearing. Keeping his hands in front of him, Jasper edges forward, stopping when Edward begins to back away. "Its okay," Jasper soothes. "I won't hurt you."

After an agonising, silent minute, Edward answers. "I know. But... I wouldn't blame you if you did." The blond takes a step back, surprised by the smoothness of his long-lost brother's voice. Somehow he imagined it to sound more feral, despite the golden hue of Edward's eyes. The telepath snorts lightly at the empath's thoughts.

"Sorry," He apologises. Edward shakes his head.

"Its fine."

The quiet is uncomfortable after that, and Jasper panics as Edward begins to leave. "Edward!" He shouts, and the nervous vampire stops, looking back at the well groomed vampire before him. "Why did you leave?"

Edward breaths in deeply, and Jasper can feel his indecision. The vampire badly wants to run, having spent the last century doing just that, but is also enjoying the familiarity of conversing with his brother in this manner. "I'm repulsive," Is all he says.

"How so?"

"I'm invasive. I enjoy looking into your minds, at least I think I do. You have all hated me for my gift, and I knew it would be better if I left then and Bella and Nessie hated me anyway, so then they wouldn't hate me for my gift later."

"Edward!" Jasper laughs, but its strained as he wants to laugh and cry at the absurdity of this. "That's absurd! Who put these thoughts into your head?"

Edward glances over Jasper's shoulder, and his eyes widen. "I'm only saying what Aro told me," He rushes out, before running, darting through the trees to get away from the two vampires he left in the clearing.

"Oh my God."

Jasper turns to find Carlisle standing behind him.

"Indeed," He replies, and they begin to hatch a new plan.

It takes days, but finally Emmett, Jacob, Carlisle and Jasper manage to find Edward again. They manage to corner him without him realising, and they know that when he realises what they've done he will run again, but for now he thinks he is alone, even though the entire family is silently watching him. They only have about half an hour, Alice says, but they don't care. Half an hour is all they need.

He is sitting, staring at the ground when she approaches, making sure to make no noise as she does so. When she is close enough, she calls out to him. "Edward."

Her voice is soft, she knows it is, and yet he whips around as if she had just screamed it next to his ear, not practically whispered it three feet away.

He takes one look at her face before turning and beginning to run, but he is stopped by Jasper and a large, russett wolf who he knows is now his son-in-law. He had pulled it from their thoughts while he had watched them. His daughter had walked down the isle on her own, not wanting anyone but he father to be there.

He attempts to go to the left, only to be blocked by Alice and Rosalie. He turns again, only to be stopped by Esme and Carlisle. As he looks up, Emmett is waiting in the trees. He knows he will be caught.

Finally, he turns to his wife, if he can still call her that. She looks nervous, but profoundly relieved as she studies her runaway husband. "You're late," She says, as firmly as possible, placing her hands on her hips. She hopes the slight scolding will bring out the gentlemanly side of him. She gets her wish.

"I'm sorry," He replies, but its whispered and he refuses to meet her eye. Everyone relaxes at this, well, almost everyone. Jasper focuses on the nervous movements of Edward's feet, which indicate how close he is to running.

He is _very _close to running.

"Edward," Jasper warns, stepping forward. His younger brother's anxiety spikes as he does, and it's only now that Jasper realises how stupid their idea to trap him was. It's got him to face them, but he's finding it hard to trust them. "It's okay. We don't hate you. I told them what you told me. We don't blame you for leaving."

Edward whips around to face Jasper, growling softly. The others take a small step back, shocked by this, but Jasper doesn't back down, realising his brother's instincts to run are driving him to this. Looking over to his right, Jasper nods Carlisle forward.

"It's okay, Edward," Carlisle says softly, calmly, with a complete reassurance of how Edward's mind works, and Jasper avoids rolling his eyes. He dealt with him as newborn, but Jasper is sure that in this moment, not even Carlisle can understand the magnitude of how much their brother has changed. "It's going to be okay. You're safe with us. I'm so sorry Aro got into your head like that."

Jasper turns and shakes his head frantically at his father, sensing what he is about to do. Edward whimpers as Carlisle steps closer to him. "It's okay, son," He whispers before pulling him into a hug.

Edward considers pushing him off, trembling under the familiar touch he hasn't felt for so long. It's been too long since he's been hugged. The only contact he's ever had for seventy years was aggressive. and life threatening. Carlisle could never be aggressive, so he's not sure why he's nervous, but after a second, he succumbs to what he's to do since the first time he was bitten.

He cries.

Holding onto Carlisle like he's drowning, Edward continues to cry, finally realising that he never should have left, that missing his daughter's life wasn't worth, that being apart from all these people for over a century _just wasn't worth it._

"I'm so sorry," He sobs, still wrapped in his father's arms. "I'm so, so sorry."

"Dad."

Everyone had agreed that Nessie should stay home, as she would be the hardest for him to see, as the last time he had seen her she looked barely five years old. She looks almost twenty now, as she walks into the clearing, watching as, for the second time in her week, one of her parents cries in one of her grandparent's arms. "Dad," She repeats, and cringes as he looks up, but only because she couldn't imagine that the scars on his face would look so... _aggressive._

He pulls away from Carlisle, slowly walking to his daughter. Jacob growls softly, but is quieted by a hit to the head from Jasper. Emmett throws a pine cone at him.

As he stares at his daughter, his _beautiful_ daughter, he can't believe he ever thought she could hate him. Even now, he realises, he left her, for over a century, and yet she still loves him. She still wants him around; in her life. "You're so beautiful," He whispers, holding her head in his hands, placing a kiss to her a brow and pulling her into a hug. She cries then, too, the last of the miracle family to succumb to tears.

Only a few hours later, Edward is sitting - clean and in clothes that fit him - in the Cullen's cream living room. He is laughing with the rest of the family, and they have decided that it's best if they just pretend none of it happened. Even though Jasper can still feel his brother's strong desire to run, he knows he won't act on it, as he's finally happy, and safe, and home.

No matter how late he was.


End file.
